Comments on: Coffee Ritualshttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/
Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:44:00 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.5By: Timothyhttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59389
Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:48:28 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59389http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee – the Chicory works wonders.
]]>By: Matthttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59388
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:59:28 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59388@64, re: pressure. It only matters with espresso, but with espresso, it’s the prime consideration. Pressure IS espresso. 9 bar, specifically. The intense pressure forced through the puck of coffee is what creates the crema and the flavor. And getting the pressure right is a function of two things: the dose of the coffee, and the grind. Those two variables interact a bit – you can put a little more coffee in the puck if you grind it a little less finely, and vice versa. When you don’t have enough pressure, you can see it as the shot pulls – the coffee shoots out very quickly, thin and light. And you’ll see a crack in the puck of coffee when you remove the portafilter. That happens a lot when you don’t have a good grinder – too many big, uneven chunks in the grind – they’re not nestling together well to resist the coffee flow evenly. But most importantly, you can taste it. As straight espresso, it’s almost undrinkable. But a shot pulled correctly is amazing. It’s sweet, rich, nutty, and not at all bitter or overpowering. There’s nothing like it.

Pressure is also the reason most of the sub $1000 non-lever espresso machines are a joke. There’s just not enough power in those things to get to 9 bars. And most of them have a little spring frother to sort of fake the crema. Below $1000 the only real espresso machines you can buy are lever machines.

You are right about the beans. Some of the best beans for filtered coffee make absolutely terrible espresso. When you’re starting out, it’s best to stick with one bean you know is capable of good espresso and master that before experimenting with others.

]]>By: Ami Silbermanhttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59387
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:19:43 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59387We have a Capresso 1300 (which is now a long obsolete model) automatic. We usually brew the full 7.5 oz cup (essentially espresso with more water), and find it wonderful. At this point, it has made us nearly 6000 cups of coffee and never needed service, although lately the two nozzles don’t dispense at the same rate (probably needs more thorough cleaning). It automatically grinds the beans, but you can use pre-ground as well (which we use for decaffe). Among some of the handy things you never thought of that it can do:
1. Even your guests can use it, so you don’t have to brew coffee for them.
2. Since you can have a pour as little as .5 oz, you can get ultra strong coffee for baking deserts.
3. Frother is great for making hot chocolate.

I think that lever-pulls are better, but you need to train and keep in practice. Plus your guests will expect you to serve them.

If you don’t go with an automatic, spend the money on a burr grinder if you will be making espresso. For drip it isn’t quite as important though.

Don’t go for the coffee pods — the coffee is more expensive and you have little control over strength.

Each brewing process needs a different grind that complements that brewing process. The French press requires a coarse grind so that, when pressed, as few of the grinds as possible make it into your cup. But a cheap blade grinder (one of those little Cuisinart deals with the press down top) will chop up some of the beans (nearer the center of the apparatus) much more finely than other beans. Now, since you’re using a French press you’ll be steeping the beans for about 3.5 minutes; that’s a good amount of time to extract flavor from a big, coarse ground, but it completely leaches the smaller grinds that your cheap blade grinder left you, which leads to an acidic taste.

Similarly for other brewing methods. Coarse chunks in the pour-over method, for instance, just don’t have enough water time to brew; and the more consistent the grind the fuller and more consistent the flavor you’ll get. The grind is perhaps most important for espresso. It needs to be super super fine so that you can compress it evenly, allowing the steam to pass through the puck evenly under great pressure. Even one bad ground can ruin a shot of espresso (as mentioned in #59).

But ultimately the proof is in the tasting; there’s no way to believe it until you’ve actually invested in a good grinder and figured out how it works. And I’ll say that that’s the single most important investment you can make in your coffee experience.

Alternately you can grind the beans where you get your coffee and put them in the freezer when you get home; the grounds won’t be as fresh as grinding them yourself, but if the choice is between a good grind two weeks ago and a cheap blade grind today I’d say take the former.

]]>By: Tonihttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59385
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:54:16 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59385What’s lacking here ironically is any facts. Lots of people say the grinder is the most important part of the process. Based on what? I can’t think of a really good scientific reason for that to be the case but I’m willing to be convinced. Nor can I see how differences in pressure, given some range, make a difference either. I CAN see a reason why the coffee bean would make a huge difference. But in our gadget driven world that’s not terribly exciting to talk about. And even that’s a huge variable. I’ve had great espresso beans from Starbucks and awful ones.
]]>By: Making Coffee | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazinehttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59384
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:07:59 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59384[…] new-espresso-machine wave function has not yet collapsed. In the meantime, via Cynical-C, here are two videos from […]
]]>By: CoffeeCupContrailshttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59383
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:43:26 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59383And at this juncture, I present Sean with Barry Schwartz’s TED talk: The Paradox of Choice.

]]>By: Clayhttp://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2010/01/25/coffee-rituals/#comment-59382
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:40:05 +0000http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/?p=3880#comment-59382Here at our roastery, we utilize a number of different methods to get our jones satisfied, and I’ve discovered it really depends on the bean. Our East Timor Maubesse really shines in a Chemex, whereas the Washed Sidamo we just received tastes the best so far out of a regular old airpot brewer – basket filter, hot water pumped from city line through our filter. We try to taste all our varietals and blends as many ways as possible, starting with the cupping room and working our way through Chemexes, French Presses, pour overs, the airpot brewers, home coffee makers, the smattering of Starbucks espresso machines on hand for caterings and our precious Red Ranger – the Rancilio S27 that still manages to pump out shot after jitter-stimulating shot.

The bottom line – it truly depends on the bean. Take away all other variables, and let the bean tell you how to smash it and boil it and extract its delicious essence.

By the way, in my experience, a coffee is best starting about 36 – 48 hours after roasting – it’s old enough to have degassed a sufficient degree but young enough that oxidation hasn’t really affected it and that it still contains all the idiosyncratic and lovely volatile aromatic chemicals that distinguish one varietal from another….

That elektra is rumored to be amazing. As is the gaggia achilles. I’m a big fan of the lever machines in general, as it makes it cheaper (and more fun and ritualized) to pull a perfect shot.

You can’t really go wrong with a lever machine. I myself bought the very very cheapest one i could find, (the gaggia factory – also sold as the la povoni europcola or something like that). And I love it. It gets a bad rap for overheating, which it does if you pull more than 2 doubles in a row. But I rarely do that, so it’s great for me.

Whatever you get, be prepared to fiddle. It took me 6 weeks of daily use to finally pull an amazing shot. You have to dial in the grind and the dose of coffee exactly right to really get a great shot with lots of crema.

The general rule of thumb, unfortunately, is to spend more on the grinder than on the espresso machine. Which is entirely unsexy and irritating advice. But it’s solid advice. Most of a good shot is in the grind. And you need a high dollar grinder to get consistent, fine grounds for espresso, with no random big chunks to kill the necessary pressure. Even a little off, and you’ll get channelling in the puck, which makes for a bitter shot.

Or … you can do what I did, and spend $100 on a german conical burr hand grinder. Adds more time, and more ritual, but it doesn’t cost $1000. And it’s kinda fun.